Russia's Strongest (and Weirdest) Cocktail - The Nikolaschka

[@vx8431]

This is very simillar to how vodka is drunk in certain parts of Europe. Just super cold vodka a small slice of lemon but no sugar just eat the small slice and do the shot of vodka. Side note savoury and vodka is very traditonal in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe. The traditional "Russian" way to have vodka is smell a piece of dark rye bread do the very big shot and eat a pickle after some do it before. Reason for the savoury things is that it makes the hangover the day after less bad if you remember to have some water at the end of your drinking session and well if you are very hungover the day after you drink a little pickle juice.

[@MixingMediaShow]

whoa that's fascinating! the pickle/pickle juice makes a lot of sense for helping with the hangover. Its basically just gatorade without the sugar

[@omechron]

This really reminds me of the way my father taught me to drink mezcal. It's arranged differently and you use salt instead of sugar but it's very much the same "Mouth Cocktail" format. You wet your hand and sprinkle salt on it. You take a shot of mezcal, lick the salt, and then bite into the lemon. The first time you try this, you'll think it's amazing. The second and third time you try this, you'll think you've discovered the greatest drink possible in all of human history. Unfortunately, the the fourth through ??? time you try this you won't remember and then you'll wake up with a mouth that tastes like the sock that a sock would wear married to someone you don't recognize.

[@MixingMediaShow]

I've never tried this myself but there's a Margarita episode in Bartender where they do it with tequila. I'll have to give it a try!

[@madhamish4664]

Salami and mustard for science.

[@MixingMediaShow]

Mmm science salami

[@jts1702a]

Went to a jazz bar last month and the bartender there was completely taken out of the left field with my order. My drink came in a full cognac snifter glass, with the lemon slice DROPPED into the drink, along with the sugar and ground coffee (at least he got the coffee part right). I sucked on that cognac-soaked lemon for quite a while after that. I sometimes wonder why I even paid for that. Perhaps caster sugar will help with keeping the packed shape together?

[@MixingMediaShow]

To be fair nikolaschka isn't a common drink but dropping the ground coffee into the drink is wild LOL. I think you're right about the cast er sugar too!